A Week of Blueberries

I really need to apologize. I've been a bad blogger and I know it. It's not like I've been on vacation in Hawaii (I wish), packing up my house for a move (so glad I'm not), or anything tremendous. Blogging has just been a lower priority this summer, so I've spent less time at the computer, both working on my own blog and visiting other blogs.

This situation isn't likely to change soon. There's a lot going on, nothing major or negative, just life with a husband, two kids at home, two grown kids within hollering distance, school, and, of course, the ever-growing list of things I want to bake.

But, since I do feel like I've disappointed you, my loyal readers, both of you, I will give you a gift. A week of blueberry posts.

My blueberry bushes performed magnificently this year. We've had the most amazing crop and I've spent a lot of time picking blueberries and figuring out what to do with all them. Since I've been so slow in getting up posts, I've accumulated a week's worth for you to enjoy.


First up is a blueberry cheesecake. A friend gave me the book 500 Cakes for my birthday and this was the first thing I picked to make from it. This is really a summertime cheesecake. The tartness of lime keeps it from being overly sweet and it's a light cheesecake that doesn't sit like a brick in your stomach. It's creamy and smooth, with fresh blueberries bursting in every bite. I can't think of a better way to round off a meal (or my thighs).



Creamy Blueberry Lime Cheesecake
- adapted from 500 Cakes by Susannah Blake

1-2/3 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs (about 1 packet of crackers)
1/2 stick (4 Tbsp) butter, melted
1 lb cream cheese
3/4 cup superfine sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
2/3 cup sour cream
3 extra-large eggs
finely grated zest and juice of 1 or 2 limes
1 cup fresh blueberries, plus 1-1/4 cups to decorate

1- Grease a 10-inch (23-cm) round springform cake pan. Stir the crumbs into the melted butter, then spread over the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing down to make an even base. Chill for 30 minutes. Wrap the base and sides of pan in two layers of foil to make a watertight seal. Use wide foil, so that it comes all the way up the side of the pan all the way around.

2- Preheat the oven to 350 deg. F (180 deg. C). Put a tea kettle full of water on to boil.

3-Beat the cream cheese until creamy, then beat in the sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the sour cream until smooth and creamy, then beat in the eggs followed by the lime zest and juice. Fold in 1 cup blueberries. Pour filling into the cake pan, tapping the sides of the pan to level the surface.

4- Place the pan inside a roasting pan and pour boiling water around it to about 1 to 1-1/2 inches deep, shielding the cake so you don't spatter boiling water onto it. Bake for 45 minutes until set (but still with a wobble in the middle).

5- Let the cake cool in it's pan on a wire rack, then chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. To serve, carefully remove the outer ring and top with remaining fresh blueberries.

Pop Goes the Cheesecake

My daughter was about 6 when she had her first taste of cheesecake. It was love at first bite and she ate so much of it she got wretchedly sick on it. Cheesecake is like that. It's delightful, but a little goes a long way.

What a good idea, then to put a little bit on a stick. And then cover it with chocolate. And add sprinkles. This was the happy idea for this month's Daring Baker's challenge. Elle ofFeeding My Enthusiasms and Deborah of Taste and Tell decided on this fun recipe for the Daring Bakers to take on.

I was enthusiastic when it was announced, but in the actual execution of the recipe I had a few stumbling blocks and by the end of the process I was much less than jolly about this challenge.

The 10-inch cake pan that I have isn't super deep and the cheesecake sort of mushroomed up and over the edge while it baked. Fortunately, there were no drips to scorch on the bottom of the pan and it didn't matter if it looked elegant as the cheesecake was just going to be scooped out anyway.

Scooping was messy, to put it mildly. The cheesecake was a wonderfully creamy consistency, which would have been great for a slice, but to try to get a neat scoop or chunk was difficult. I tried some scoops, then just cut triangles out and scooped up the leftovers. Both were untidy. And I learned quickly that licking the fingers to deal with the mess means you end up eating a lot of cheesecake.

Then there was the sheer volume of cheesecake I had to deal with. Two full cookie sheets of cheesecake blops to find room for in my freezer. I'm fortunate to have an extra freezer in the garage. If I'd had to squish them into my itty bitty refrigerator freezer, I'd have been doomed.

Then the dipping of the pops went on as long as a cross country car trip and I used about twice as much chocolate as the recipe called for. I'm not sure if I overdid on the chocolate, but I couldn't see how else to do it. Dipping is not a strong point of mine. I enlisted my daughters to help. I dipped, then passed off the pop to eldest daughter who sprinkled, then she passed off to youngest who held a fist full of pops till the chocolate set enough so that they could be set down on a plate. Thank you girls!

So, now we have a freezer full of pretty party pops. Drop by and have some. Please! Because for now, I've had enough of cheesecake.

Be sure to check out the other (much more talented and less whiny) Daring Bakers and their beautiful version of the Cheesecake Pops.

Cheesecake Pops

Makes 30 – 40 Pops

5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream

Boiling water as needed

Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks

1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)


Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) - Optional

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

Change Is Good

I am all for traditions. Traditions comfort us. They anchor us. They are a structure around which to build our lives. But sometimes the structure can be a little claustrophobic. And then it's time to break out, shake things up, and try something new.

If you've been keeping track, you might have noticed that I missed posting a pie for Pie Day last week. I did make a pie, but I held off posting it on purpose. This pie hasgot such lovely flavors that say fall and Thanksgiving to me that I wanted to share it with you in case you needed to take a break from pumpkin, apple, or whatever your standard Thanksgiving pie is. And if it's not Thanksgiving time for you, feel free to indulge just because it's a fabulous pie!

Mix together a pecan pie, a cheesecake, and caramel and what have you got? A diet busting, too good to pass up, amazing pie. I made it, fully intending to take pictures and then give the rest away. Of course, the photo shoot piece had to be eaten. And then since the pie was there, it turned into dessert for the family. Half of it was gone. Still determined not to have it hanging around I called a neighbor to ask if she wanted some. By the time she got back to me the next day, my family had whittled it down to a nub in the pie pan. So much for watching calories. We watch them. Then we eat them. But it was worth the splurge!

Caramel-Pecan Cheesecake Pie

1 (8-oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 unbaked pie shell (9 inches)
1-1/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup caramel ice cream topping*

Preheat oven to 375 deg. F.

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg, and vanilla until smooth. Spread this into the pastry shell and sprinkle with the pecans.

In a small bowl whisk remaining eggs; gradually whisk in the caramel topping until blended. Pour over pecans.

Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Place foil on top after 20 minutes if pie is browning too quickly.

Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight before slicing. Refrigerate leftovers.

* I didn't have any caramel ice cream topping, but I did have leftover wrapped caramels from making caramel apples. I put about 16 in a glass measure with 1/4 milk and microwaved on low heat, stirring frequently until the caramel was all dissolved.




Happy Thanksgiving!

The Fastest Way To A Man's Heart Is...

The internet says that the fastest way to a man's heart is Chuck Norris' fist. I'm a traditionalist. I say the fastest way is through cheesecake.

.

When I was dating my future husband in college I knew he had a huge love for cheesecake. So one time when I flew home on break I made him a cheesecake. Not just any cheesecake, this was chocolate marbled cheesecake. I was so excited because this was a new culinary achievement for me and it turned out beautifully. I proudly carried this beauty onto the airplane, carefully stowed it beneath my seat, and then almost forgot it when deplaning. I had to run back into the plane to retrieve it from under my seat. Can you imagine that scene in today's security climate? Not a happy thought, there.

Anyway, when I presented my sweetie with the cheesecake he was thrilled. He promptly served himself up a generous piece and pronounced it wonderful. I think he ate a third of it the first day. The next day he ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Then a small piece the next day. A smaller piece the next day. I think he quietly threw away the rest of it and was unable to face a cheesecake for quite a while after that. So the morals from the story are that 1) most men really appreciate a good cheesecake, and 2) sharing is a good thing.

When faithful reader and kitchen princess, Gabe, requested a recipe for a Turtle Cheesecake for her sweetie I scrambled to find one. I didn't have a specific recipe that fit the bill, but put together several recipes that combine beautifully. The crust is from a magazine, the topping is from my faithful Baking by Dorie Greenspan and the cheesecake is from a new library find, The Best Recipe

The Best Recipe is a very cool cookbook from the editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine. They exhaustively test all possible variations of a recipe to find the one, best way to make a dish. It's an engineer's dream cookbook. They discuss the way that all the variables affect the outcome and then tinker with them until they achieve the optimal result. So I turned to this source with confidence that their recipe would insure a wonderful product. And mostly that was correct.

I ran into only two problems. One was that I forgot the second layer of aluminum foil on the pan. This allowed the water from the water bath to seep into my crust so my crust was not crusty, it was more like mud. Tasty mud, but not pretty. The other was I underbaked it by about 5 minutes so the center is quite creamy. But still darn good. So good that I'm going to have to practice quite a bit of sharing so I don't get sick of cheesecake. Because I'll definitely need to make this again so I can get it right!

Turtle Cheesecake

CRUST:
1-1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

FILLING:
2 lbs cream cheese
1-1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp zest from small lemon, minced
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream

TOPPING:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1-1/2 Tbsp light corn syrup
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup salted peanuts

1- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.

2- Combine chocolate wafer crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Line bottom of 9-inch spring-form pan with foil, tuck foil underneath pan bottom, assemble pan, then pull foil up the side of the pan. Brush bottom and sides with butter. Press wafer crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan and about 1-1/2 inches up the side of the pan. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, remove to cool and reduce oven heat to 325. Once pan is cooled, cover underneath and along sides with a wide sheet of heavy-duty foil and set in large roasting pan. Bring kettle of water to boil for water bath.

3- While the water is heating, beat cream cheese in bowl of electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add sugar and beat on medium speed until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated and scraping down after each addition. Add zest and vanilla and beat until just incorporated. Remove bowl from mixer; stir in cream and sour cream.

4- Pour batter into prepared pan. Set roasting pan on oven rack and pour in enough boiling water to come about halfway up side of springform pan. Be careful not to have water level over the rim of the foil. Bake until perimeter of cake is set but center jiggles like Jell-O when pan is tapped, 55 to 60 minutes. (I turned my oven off at 55 and in hindsight should have left it another 5 minutes. My cheesecake was quite jiggly in the center. I think a ring of "set" with jiggling just in the center is what to look for. The majority of mine was jiggly.)

5 - Turn off heat and leave oven door ajar, propping it open if necessary, for 1 hour longer. Remove springform pan from water bath and set on wire rack; cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours. It can be refrigerated up to 4 days.

6- After the cheesecake has chilled, make the caramel nut topping. You might want to save this step until just before serving for a warm, gooey presentation, but it can be done ahead of time. You'll just have a chewier topping.

7- Put the sugar, water and corn syrup in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir just to combine the ingredients and then put the pan over medium-high heat. Heat, without stirring, until the caramel turns deep amber, 5 to 10 minutes, wiping down any splatters on the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. To test the color of the caramel, drop a bit on a white plate. If it's too pale, it won't have much taste.

8-Lower the heat a bit and, standing back from the saucepan because it will splatter, add the cream and butter. When the splatters are less vehement, stir to calm down the caramel and dissolve any lumps. Stir in the peanuts, and pour the caramel and peanuts into a 1-quart Pyrex measuring cup or a heat-proof bowl.

Spoon the peanuts out of the hot caramel and onto the cake. After that pour or spoon on enough caramel to cover all the nuts. You'll have a layer about 1/4 inch high. You'll probably have caramel left over - save it covered in the refrigerator for making caramel sauce.

Allow the topping to set at room temp. about 20 minutes before serving. Run a knife around the edge between the cake and the pan and carefully remove the outer pan before serving. If you choose to make the topping ahead of the serving time, top the cheesecake and once the topping has cooled, refrigerate it. Then for serving, take the cheesecake out of the refrigerator 20 minutes ahead of time and allow it to come to room temperature. If the caramel is still a little too stiff, a quick wave of a creme brulee torch will soften it up.

My family rates it two thumbs up!